Zod Returns
by calicoskies4ever
Summary: Sequel to One Fine Day Chap Two: Lex activated the device to control Clark, allowing him and Brainiac to take over the world. Now they want to bring General Zod to Earth. Clark can't let them do it. Same warnings as before. See inside for more details.
1. Second Comming

Zod Returns: A sequel to _One Fine Day_, in which Lex activated the device to control Clark, which allowed him and Brainiac to take control of the world, with Clark obediently following any orders they give. Now Fine wants to bring General Zod to Earth. Clark can't let that happen. Warnings are the same as OFD, slash, some non-con, references to child abuse, AU, a little OOC, and two new ones. Obviously the first part of this story was written before we knew what the crystal actually did, so I'm going to keep it the way I originally wrote it (the device turned Kal-el into Luthor's slave). Also switching point of view to Lex's.

After dinner, we took Clark upstairs for a bath, and washed his hair, twice. We took him out of the tub, dried him, off, brushed, styled, and blow-dried those beautiful, curly brown locks, making them very soft, and perfect looking. Zod would appreciate our efforts, and enjoy him better if he looked this way, Milt said. Then, I rubbed sweet scented lotion into his feet, and all the way up to his face, pausing at the hips, and gazed longingly, at what would soon belong to the General, what would most likely never be mine again.

Fine was too busy to pay attention our little exchange, but Clark noticed my stare, and when I ran a warm, sticky hand over is cock, he lifted his hips up, arching into my touch, mouthing the words, _I want you_. This was very new, and very different from his usual behavior. Most of the time, he acted as if the simple act of my putting my hand on top of his was a brutal assault. He cringed when we made love, and cried himself to sleep at night. Milt called him pathetic, and—had I not interfered—would have punished him severely for it. I, on the other hand, was the nice one. I hated to harm him, now that we'd gotten used to things. I even felt something approaching love for the alien.

Fine promised me I would always be an equal partner, and that Clark would be as much mine as ever, but I had a strong feeling that he wasn't being completely honest. Zod didn't seem like the sort of person who shared his toys. Not that Kal-el was a toy. I didn't think of him that way, now. When I first activated the crystal and took control over him, he only stayed because he had to follow my every command, but then, over the years, he fell in love with me. We were gentle with Clark, strict, but mostly caring. We only punished him when he was overly insubordinate. Most of the time, Clark knew the limits, but like any child had to test them every so often. As time went on, those incidents became fewer and farther between. And, with time, we were able to come up with better punishments. I hated what Kryptonite did to him, never used it myself, and tried to prevent Fine from exposing him to the green stuff as much as possible. Considering how evil, sadistic, and cruel some of the people on this planet used to be, Clark could have ended up in the hands of someone far worse, and I think he knew it. His behavior improved tremendously after the first few years in captivity. Now, he didn't cry as often. He didn't fight back as much. He even smiled, just not very often. And while although technically still under my control, he could have run away years ago, and I probably would have let him, but Kal-el never so much as mentioned wanting to leave, let alone attempted an escape.

I looked down at his slim, muscular body, shining gloriously in the moonlight, and smiled, reaching out to stroke his hair. Milt finally noticed the way I was watching Clark, and smiled, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Make sure he takes another shower before we bring him up to the fortress tomorrow at 11:00," he told me. Kal-el sat on the bed, staring into space, as I pulled his pajamas on, most likely wondering why we bothered, as they would be coming off very soon. "Also, he's going to need a good nights sleep. The general wouldn't want him to fall into slumber in the midst of _passion_." He headed for the door, still smiling.

"No," Clark gasped, barely audible. "Please don't make me take one of those pills. I'll be good. I'll sleep. I promise!" The pills were Fine's invention. Shortly after moving into the mansion, my lover had his first bout of insomnia. Three weeks went by before we noticed, because he slept by himself—see how nice we are to him—in a private bedroom. He passed out during dinner. Luckily, no one but us was there. Following that, Milt started on a new project. Using small amounts of chemically altered Kryptonite dust (purple k) and a few other ingredients he didn't feel like disclosing, he created a capsule. They worked on Kal, like a regular sleeping pill would on me. Clark claimed they gave him nightmares, his excuse for not wanting to take them, but I was fairly certain it was a control issue. He didn't like to relinquish control over anything, and sleeping pills forced him to be unconscious and even more out of control of his own body, than he was while awake.

"Maybe he's right," I tried to suggest, sitting close to Clark on the bed, and touching is shoulder. He only finished a tiny bit, which is probably why I saw it, but Fine didn't. "I'll make sure he goes to bed on time, and stays asleep." He left to get the meds, despite both of our protests, and Clark reached for me, grabbing a hold of my shirt, looking up at me desperately.

"Lex, we need to talk. This Zod thing is a big deal. The man is a monster and a tyrant. He killed millions of people, and not just to keep them from speaking out against him. He does it for fun!" Before I could say anything in response to this, he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We have to…you need to listen to me," he begged, sounding almost terrified.

"Milt said you'd say that, or so something like it. I know what's going on here. You're just afraid because he isn't going to be as nice as I am," I said, chuckling. "Listen, Clark, before a change like this…it's only natural for you to feel afraid, but don't worry. We'll take good care of you, and I will be here, always."

"But, Brainiac is lying to you! The last time he came to Earth, he killed a lot of people, injured hundreds more. The physical damage he did to the world took months to clean up. All he wants is absolute power and you—Lex, he _hurt_ me." I was having an extremely difficult time reading his facial expressions. Kal-el turned away, looking at something on the other side of the room.

"Hurt you how?" I prodded. Kal-el placed a finger over his lips. _Shh._ Milt didn't knock when he reached the door, or speak to announce is presence, or anything. He walked in, placed two glowing lilac-colored tablets and a glass of water on the bedside table.

"Make sure he takes them, gets at least eight hours of sleep, and then clean him up again in the morning," Fine ordered, before turning around, and exiting Clark's bedroom. The frightened boy reached for the pills, his eyes empty, and a little wet.

"Hurt you how?" This time the question was far from gentle. He and I never discussed what "I" had done as Zod, in any way shape or form. We just tried to pretend it never happened, much like we did with the transference thing, and while we had our share of problems these days, I'd noticed the change in is behavior around me years before I activated the crystal. He couldn't be near me for months after that, and even for a year past the point where he claimed be "over it" Clark still flinched if I touched him without warning, or in certain places, in certain ways. "If you're making up stories for…" Unsure what he thought he was going to accomplish, but knowing he must an agenda, I stopped myself.

"We got into a physical battle, but it was difficult. I couldn't, hit him. It was you; but not you, and he knew that I had feelings for you. He said something like," Clark cut himself off, made a soft whimpering sound, and looked away again. "He said, "Lex has strong desires for you, Kal-l, and I can see why." I'd just gotten out of the Phantom Zone, and almost all of my strength was gone. After a long fight, it got to the point were I wasn't able to even stand up anymore. Ten he squatted beside me and touched my hair. He did something then, hit me in a pressure point, in my neck, and I don't know how, but I was—paralyzed, but I still felt everything. _Everything_. Zod touched me again, stroking my cheek. Even with all the pain, even though I couldn't move, I still tried to fight back. He told me I was pathetic, but beautiful. Then he. That's when he," Clark stammered. "The worst part was that right before Zod went into your body, things were going really well between you and me. I was getting ready to sleep with you, give you my virginity. I tried to tell myself, it's not him. That's not Lex, but nothing helped. He used your body to have sex with me, and then let me trap him in the Phantom Zone so that we could never have a relationship." He seemed far more upset by what was going on than I'd expected. Of course, had I known about their history, I may have tried to convince Fine to delay the General's arrival, until Kal-el was more comfortable with the idea.

"You had to know that this was coming," I tried to explain, and gently brushed a bit of hair out of is face. "Milt and I have been talking about bringing Zod back for years. It was only a matter of time before we figured out how to do it. The general liked you. It'll be difficult at first, but this is a greatest honor."

"Lex would you listen to yourself?" he shouted. "Even after all you've done to me, I know where I stand. I know the way you're going to hurt me, and how often. I also know you still have good intentions. You think you're saving the world, which means that all the bad things you've done can be excused, but Zod and Brainiac only care about domination, and having…they will blow up the whole planet if it increases their control even a tiny bit. And they don't need you anymore, so as soon as Zod has the people were he wants them, he'll kill you. And after I produce an heir, he'll kill me. After that, Earth won't stand a chance." I stared at him, my jaw hanging halfway to the floor, debating as to how much of this I ought to believe and how much he was making up. Clark curled up on his side, and closed his eyes. "Now if you wanna sleep with me, please just do it now, I have to rest up for my big day, take those pills, and have my nightmares."

"Just go to bed Clark. I, uh, I'll take care of the pills, so you don't have to worry about that, or uh—anything. I…you're right. You have a big day tomorrow." He swallowed the sleeping pills nonetheless, and was asleep in ten minutes.

I watched him for about an hour, sitting beside him on the bed, and then I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I had gone back in time, at least ten, twelve years. I was back in Smallville, in my office, with papers piled up all around me, when the doors burst open and Clark flew in. He poured himself a glass of scotch, and yelled at me for stealing it from my father.

"How did you know that it belonged to my father?" I asked, looking up at him doe-eyed and innocently.

"Isn't everything his? The scotch, the private jets, the cars, right down to the very cufflinks in your sleeves. Everything belongs to Lionel doesn't it?" he asked, moving closer, standing over my chair, looking at me as if I were a piece of chocolate cake. "I need to get out of town for a while, and require some cash in order to facilitate this process." He asked for $57,000,000, and I asked how he came up with that exact amount. "It's not your money; you stole it." Suddenly I felt dizzy. The world spun and stretched back and forth.

"Dad?" I managed to croak before he grabbed me by the neck, squeezing my throat, pressing his thumb against my larynx. My vision swam and was coated in a deep, blood red. He beat me, knocked me around, and threatened to kill me if I didn't give him the money. Then, he was pressed up against me, his cock hard, straining against the front of Clark's jeans. In real Martha Kent rushed in, and saved me, but in the dreams no one ever shows up. Lionel—in Clark—bends me over the desk and…

I awoke drenched in sweat, and short of breath. Next to me lay a similar creature. I must have looked exactly the same way, just a few minute before, except he was slightly trimmer, and had better hair. I shook him gently, waking the boy up. "You were having a bad dream," I explained. Kal-el nodded, sadly. "Even if I believed you about Zod—and I'm not saying I do—it's out of my hands. Clark, just, look at me."

He didn't move. "Damnit, Kal-el, when did it become okay for you to disregard a direct order from me?" This time is body did respond (first with a nearly undetectable flinch) as he rolled over to face me, his blue eyes red rimed, two dark crescents under them. Between the crying, the physical exhaustion, and the tiny lines in the corners of his eyes and mouth, the boy looked a good fifteen years older than his actual age. "What are you trying to do?" I wrapped my arms around him. Kal pushed me away from him, stood up, raced to the bathroom, locking himself inside.

_Crap, _I thought. _This is not good._ Terrified and sitting in a bathtub, he wasn't going to get any sleep, and come morning he would be ready to pass out. Milt would get mad, and most likely take it out (not on me in the slightest) on the poor kid. I told myself I was an idiot for caring. I told myself to stand up, go run and get Fine right now, before the situation got out of hand. I told myself it was hopeless, but something in my heart wouldn't listen. I walked to the door, pretending it actually had a locking mechanism, and that there wasn't a hunk of Kryptonite ten feet away. I could have easily broken the door down, and forced him back into bed. I knocked on the door. "Clark, you gotta talk to me. I can't help you if I don't know what I'm up against."

"You don't care," he cried. It wasn't hard to visualize the guy, dressed in those red and blue pajamas, sitting on the tiled floor, his back against the wooden door, knees up against his chest, his thin frame doubled over, wracked with sobs. He was probably shaking, hair messy, eyes wet. This wasn't a game. This wasn't an act. Clark knew how much trouble he could get into running away like that, hiding.

Fine would hurt him, badly, regardless of what might be coming in the morning, and Clark hated those punishments. So did I. They were painful, and terrifying, and humiliating. If Kal-el, were willing to expose himself to that kind of trouble, then something far more terrible than I could understand had to be going on here.

"I know you're not trying to trick me, and I'm sorry about the accusation. It won't happen again." I could picture him rolling his eyes, a gesture that used to break my heart. Only, ever since I had taken control of him, I hadn't seen the guy rebel so strongly. This was another important sign. He really though he had nothing to lose.

"Yeah, right," he whimpered. I wanted to reach out and stroke his cheek, or hair, or anything. "I'm just an idiot who couldn't see this coming." I didn't know what to say, and kept my mouth shut. "What? Not gonna yell at me? Call me a name? Break down the door and fuck me,_ hurt_ me?"

"I'd rather listen to what you have to say," I tried to explain, gently. I could practically hear the guy flinch, yet again.

"Why should I tell you anything? So you can tell Brainiac what I'm up to? That I think the General is evil and I want to stop you guys from getting him out of the Phantom Zone.

"No, I'm, not going to tell him. If I were planning to do that, I would have gotten the guy already. You really think…I'm," I paused, almost afraid to ask this question. "Do you really think I'm evil?" He hadn't actually said the words, but it was implied. Sort of. That's why I asked.

"Well, a little bit, yeah, but you're not completely hopeless, or else I wouldn't bother. If we're actually gonna do this, it has to be quick. We don't have much time." I sighed, lowering myself to the carpet, and placing my hand on the door, hoping he would see it, and either open up or put his hand on the other side. "Zod is a monster, Lex. He killed, everyone on Krypton died because of his struggle for power."

"But he already has power here. He'll rule Earth. Milt is—Milt told me he was designed to carry Zod off of the planet but Jor-el sentenced him to the Phantom Zone before they had the chance. He's gonna be the vessel this time, because it would kill me to take on the General for more than a day or two, and then there'd be nowhere for him to go. And Brainiac will be gone." I thought this would mean something, but it was pretty stupid of me, a fact Clark pointed out nervously.

"Besides, that won't be enough!" This time Kal-el spoke with real passion. He wasn't quiet, shy, frustrated, nor was he attempting to start a fight, but there was something in his voice. Something I hadn't heard since we were kids in Smallville.

"So, what he'll wage war on other planets, potentially destroying both worlds and getting himself killed in the process? Just to get a tiny bit of extra power?"

"With Zod, nothing is impossible. If he wants something, he takes it. I doubt he even considers the possibilities, or if he does, it doesn't matter how many people get hurt or killed, what gets lost in the battle, as long as—and he…doesn't need you anymore."

"Even if I believe this—and I'm still not saying I do—there isn't exactly a lot of time to come up with a plan. What are we supposed to do? Have you even considered that Kal-el or are you just acting out of the fear of…" his crying cut me off. "What? Clark come on; open the door so I can see you, so I can hold you." He responded exactly as I ordered, but not because it was what he wanted. Clark probably would have walked over, sat down where I told him to, and done whatever I asked of him, had I not noticed the sheer terror in his eyes. The young man was absolutely horrified, scared of me, and I had never noticed before. "You know what? I can see you, and it's okay to say there. I promise, and there's…as long as we're sharing stories, there's something I never told you about either.

"When Lionel did the transference thing, he used your body." I was stuttering, ashamed, embarrassed, and in pain. "You know that he used to _touch_ me when I was a kid, when I was a teenager, and he tried—he hurt me a couple of times right before he sent me to Smallville, and managed to overpower me a few on a few more occasions before he died. You knew all that, but what I didn't tell you, was what he did—what he tried to do when he was in your body. He came into my office, furious, and tried to get some money, extort me. Then he grabbed my body, beat me up, bashed my face into the desk, and he was about to rape me, using your body, when your mother came in and saved my life, probably. If he had—done what he was planning, he would have ripped me in half. I never told you. I never told anybody. Nothing happened, but… So, I can't even imagine how you must feel. What you went through."

"See, that's exactly why I asked for your help, because you are a good person, deep down inside. You _want _to be good. You want to do right. And you will. I'm sorry for what Lionel did. I'm sorry for everything he ever did to you. I'm sorry for all the bad things in your life, and I'm sorry for lying to you for so many years. If I had just told you the truth when I was a teenager, everything would have worked out ok."

"Jesus I don't deserve you." Then he did stand up, move over, and sit down beside me. He was quiet, pressing his head against my shoulder, the way we used to when we were younger, and closer.

"I guess we have to do whatever it takes to keep Milt from executing his plan. We have to stop him. We have to do—whatever it takes…" I couldn't help but wonder, if couldn't bring himself to say the words _kill Brainiac_, how were we supposed to actually do the thing? The two of us sighed. Clark reached for me, his hand straight out. I gave him mine, and let him squeeze, ignoring the intense pain in my fingers. "Sorry." I'm not used to, you know, actually touching people. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know. If you wanted to hurt me, my hand would be a pile of dust right now." We both purposely avoided the other conversation. Until one of us said the words, it was as if the thoughts themselves didn't exist, as if the deeds would never happen.

"So there's no way around it?" I asked, after what felt like an eternity. Clark watched me, staring at my face, as if trying to read my mind "There has to be something else we can do, some other way to go about it. Just give me more time. I'll come up it the most brilliant plan you could ever imagine. We—no one would ever suspect me of plotting to kill Milton Fine, but I'll come up with the most brilliant, unbelievably creative idea in all of history, but…I need more time. I can do it. I know I can. It's just gonna take me a couple of—"

"We don't have a couple of days Lex! Milt's going to bring Zod back to Earth tomorrow. And then it'll be too late to do anything. Lex, we have to do this. We have to destroy the Brain Interactive Construct, for good. We have to kill it, and we have to do it, _now_." I nodded, sighing. As had always been the case in the good ol' days, Clark Kent was right. We had to keep Zod from destroying the planet—our planet—at all costs.

"Yeah, I know." I wasn't sure what else to say. "Are you sure about this?" I asked. Clark made a face. His eyes watered slightly, like a little boy. He seemed so fragile, hurt, lost, confused, and terrified. His blue eyes were cold, almost empty. I knew that expression well. I'd seen the same one many times in my bedroom mirror, especially when I was a little boy. Um, the thing is, Clark, I've never actually, physically murdered anybody. Not intentionally. Even with Lionel, it was an accident. I wanted answers. He wanted—me. Despite all evidence to the contrary that man _never_ changed. We argued. He grabbed my arm, forced me up against the wall, pushed me into position. When my father leaned up against me, I could feel…he was…he had an," I blubbered, but managed to stop myself. "Lionel touched my face, tried to kiss me, but I—and even to this day, I never figured out how—I managed to wiggle out of his grasp. He chased after, and tackled me. I grabbed the gun again, pointed it at him, and said if he ever touched me again, I'd blow his brains out. He just laughed and said I had a—I didn't have the constitution to murder anyone, not even him. The struggle got out of hand. He fell out the window, and I tried to—there wasn't time to reach for him, to pull him up. You at least have some experience, even if you didn't want to kill those people. And then there's your cousin."

"I didn't kill her! Kara's not dead; at least she wasn't dead when Fine locked her in the Phantom Zone. Those monsters probably killed her by now, but she was alive, and you could of saved her. I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. He said all the right things, tricked you. Brainiac won't be the same as any of the people I had to kill. Kryptonite doesn't work on him. He has all my powers, and then some, but nothing can kill or hurt him—it."

"Actually there is one thing," I explained. "When you were, first—when we first activated the crystal, you were—it said we had to keep you in this cage thing at night, while you slept. I hated that cage, wanted to just give you a bedroom, a private place. Even then I didn't completely want to hurt you, not all the time, not in every way. I hated a lot of things he did to you, and tried to make them stop."

"I remember the cage," he admitted, seeming humiliated, but not in pain, or frightened.

"Well, he said he knew what it was like. He told me that he once found himself in a similar situation. He even gave me the details—the exact details on how he was captured. The only problem is that it requires some pretty advanced technology. We don't have the exact same machine on Earth. I'd have to build one myself."

"But you can do it, right, Lex? Because I know how smart you are. I know you can do it." So sweet. So innocent. So naive. Even after everything, Clark was exactly the same as he had always been.

"You don't even know what's involved," I snapped. He flinched once more when I raised my voice. I wrapped my arms around him, and he let me. "I think—I know I can do it. I'm pretty sure. The real issue is time. We have—if we're lucky—eight or nine hours. We're cutting it close, and if Brainiac finds out you will find yourself back in the Kryptonite cuffs and in a cage on a regular basis, probably for the rest of your life. If he doesn't kill me, I'll be made into a toy for the General to—_play _with." Kal-el's face was soft, filled with anguish, as if attempting to decide which of our upcoming situations was worse. "I'm not saying no. I'm not telling you these things to hurt or upset you, but…it's important you know what's at stake." I watched him lean back, pulling away from me, staring into the distance, deep in contemplation.

It didn't take him very long to come up with an answer, but I was still deeply disturbed when he said, "I don't think my life would change all that much if I get caught. So I don't care, but you can't live like that. Not after what Lionel did. It'll _kill_ you, break your heart, and your spirit. If Brainiac finds out what we're doing, I'll kill you, instantly, painlessly, before he gets the chance to lay a finger on you," he offered. I didn't think I deserved this, or much of anything. I had no choice. I had to do this. It was the only way I could make up for all the evil things I'd done. I knew I could not blame Milton Fine/ Brainiac for all of my misdeeds, or any of them. I was still an evil monster, and would never make up for what I'd done. Once again I became overwhelmed.

"Clark I—I'm the worst man in all of history. Forget Hitler, forget Genghis Kahn, I—what have I done? Even my father—he only murdered about—well it's a significantly smaller number than my own, and he—I'm worse a worse person than Lionel," I whimpered, actually fucking whimpered. I hadn't shed a tear since I was a very, very, young child. I couldn't believe what had happened to me. I probably would have cried for hours, before lapsing into catatonia for all eternity, if Clark hadn't reacted so quickly. He reached over, grabbing my shirt by its lapels, and shook me, not violently, but with just enough force to bring me out of my own self pity.

"Lex you have to be strong; just for tonight. You have to do this," he instructed. "You've gotta build that device thingy. You have to trap Brainiac before he can bring Zod back to Earth. We've only got a few hours. You can fall apart after that, okay?" I nodded, weakly. "What do you need to build the trap," he asked, like he was planning to dash off and get it for me. I shook my head, and pulled him up onto his feet, dragging his body to the bed. He cringed, a mad ea little sound like a small, injured animal.

"Just relax, okay, Clark? I'm not gonna hurt you. Just lie here, and pretend to be asleep. I don't think he's—it's come back, but just in case. Whatever you do, don't leave this room. Milt will find, and hurt you." I leaned over his beautiful, soft, fragile body, stroking his hair once more. 'But I won't, not ever, ever again, I promise." He nodded, his whole body still clenched. "I'll be right back; I'm not trying to hurt or trick you. I know it must seem that way, but I'm not." Clark closed his eyes, and rolled onto his left side, curling into a fetal ball. I wished that I could stay there, but it just wasn't an option. I was a man with a mission wit much to do and only a very sort amount of time to do it in. I was going to kill Brainiac, prevent the second coming of Zod, protect Clark, and save the world.


	2. Monsters

I left Clark's bedroom, shut the door, and made my way to my old laboratory. It had been years since I'd had the time to do experiments, or build something just for fun, but I—unlike Clark—had free reign to go wherever I wanted in the mansion, even though Brainiac had always been sort of in control of me. He was the one who knew how to successfully take over a planet, who knew about what life had been like on Krypton; he was the idea man. Luckily he never cared about the mad scientist inside of me, which was espescialy good because I had been researching Brainiac, ever since we first teamed up, trying to figure out what exactly he was, what his strengths and weaknesses were, and about his physical makeup. I wanted to know everything about the man but, unfortunately, there wasn't much to be discovered, and while Milt had gone into great detail about his captivation, I didn't really know how to do that myself. In the lab, I grabbed some screwdrivers, screws, a small laser, pieces of metal, copper wiring, computer chips, and a few other things, which I organized, neatly. Once I had all the stuff I though I might need, I went to work, not bothering with blueprints or things, as they would (obviously) just waste time that we didn't have. After about an hour of tinkering, with no success, I suddenly got another idea.

"What sort of an effect does Kryptonite have on Milt—er Brainiac," I asked. Clark shook his head. "None?" He nodded. "I could probably alter a meteor rock so that it has a—to make it work with Fine's specific body makeup and genetic material."

"But Brainiac is a super computer. Not a person, or alien, or any other sort of living creature. He's a robot. You can't kill a machine, because it's not alive," Kal-el, complained, picking up my abandoned device.

"You're right, we can't kill him—it—but we can fry his hard drive, melt his motherboard, crash it's system, destroy the monster. And I think this is the best way to do that," I told him. Clark sighed, looking up at me helplessly, but then nodded. "Now I just have to get some of his genetic material." Kal stood up, like he was volunteering. I grabbed his arm

"What," he muttered. "He—I mean, it, I mean…Brainiac _hurts _me all the time, this'll just be another one of those times." I almost screamed at him, but managed to stay calm. "I was just trying to protect you from Milt, because you've been through this enough."

"I don't have to have sex with him to get it," I explained. Clark's eyes were slightly wet, but he was mostly intrigued. "I have a piece of that black ooze stuff that he is made up of, or—I have some of it in a container. We used Kryptonite to—it doesn't kill him, but a large amount of the stuff around a small amount of this will…neutralize the ooze." I started to pat his arm, then decided against it. He smiled, weakly, and I went back to the lab, found the jar of Milt's "DNA" and a large chunk of Kryptonite. I carried that in a lead box so that Clark wouldn't be hurt by the stuff, and went to work as far away from him as possible. I exposed the black ooze to every variety of meteor rock we had discovered, red, green, black, silver, yellow, and the purple stuff from extra sleeping capsules I had elsewhere. The green, silver, and black K caused small changes, but had nowhere near the effect on Milt's body that it did on Clark We tried heating the various types of rocks with his heat vision, freezing them, and I even broke a small hunk down to a liquid a couple of times, mixing it with different chemicals. Nothing happened. I was failing, and had no idea what to do next. I told him so.

"I have—I think I have an idea…but I just wanted to…it's probably stupid and wouldn't work." I had pretty much given up, and was grateful for anything. I couldn't build a mini Phantom Zone, kryptonite wouldn't kill him; what else could we do?

"At this point I'd welcome suggestions from a dust mite." Kal-el made a soft sound, his eyes big, and round, and wet. "I didn't mean that you're a dust mite, but—uh—go on." I placed my palm on his shoulder, but let go because he flinched again, hands rising to protect himself. "You're not stupid and I'm sure whatever you've thought of isn't either," I added.

"When we were in fifth grade, Pete—Ross—and I went online and started talking to this guy about video games. Pete really wanted this one new computer game, I don't remember which one, but the game cost way more money than we had. His parents said that if he wanted it, he had to buy it himself. But this guy on the computer told us that he had the game, and would send a file for free since Pete was such a nice kid. Only, it wasn't a game. We accidentally downloaded this massive virus, and by the end of the day his whole computer was just—dead."

"Clark, that's brilliant. Brainiac is basically just a giant walking, talking computer. He'd crash and burn and we'd be rid of him forever. That's amazing." Clark was shivering. "What?"

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, or if you really meant that," he whimpered. I smiled weakly, stood up, went to the desk, and logged onto the computer. "Lex what are you doing?" He paused, looking down and away. "I'm so, so, so sorry, I won't question your judgment or anything else ever again."

"Relax," I ordered, trying to be gentle. "I meant that. Every word of it, and I do welcome suggestions as to—especially if you know how to get him to download the virus." He shrugged, and quickly started to apologize again. "You don't have to do that. You don't have to do anything, but maybe you should try and get some sleep." He didn't move. "You're afraid that I'm gonna fail, I know. So am I. If I do—I'm. I'll um, when we first stared this after we took control over you, Milt was worried that you'd revolt. He made me make these. I reached into the pocket of my robe, and removed an item I had gotten from my lab, but hadn't used yet. I had another lead lined box, and a gun. The box held several Kryptonite bullets. "Stay back. I don't wanna hurt you. If we, if this doesn't work, I—I'm gonna put the bullets in the gun and put it in the dresser. I want you to take it out, put the barrel in your mouth, without the—he might. You can't fight him. Stupid crystal won't let you. He'll probably still bring Zod to Earth, but at least I'll die knowing that I saved you from him. This time."

"Jor-el sent me _here_ to protect the people of Earth. I can't give up. I can't leave that monster alone with them. I have to fight. I have to try." He had this sad look on his face, like he was trying to be brave and strong. _Except that you don't have a choice in any of this. _

"We are, that's what tonight is about. That's what I'm doing here, but—if we fail to kill it, and I order you to destroy Milt, he'll cuff you to a bed, and keep you there until you give birth to Zod's child. He won't kill you. He knows how to torture you way worse than that. He'll make you watch as generation after generation of monsters destroy this planet, and kill everyone." He looked like he was going to start crying, but controlled himself. "I didn't mean to be so harsh, but—" he cut me off before I could finish.

"But it's the truth. I know you're right, Lex," he whispered. "Which is why we can't fail. We have to stop him. And then we have to make this right. We can still save the world, we can protect them." Kal-el stood up and walked over to my side, sitting down beside me, reading over my shoulder. I worked, hours flew by. I turned and looked at him, quickly, flashing Clark a small smile. He looked exhausted. "What are you doing?" I did my best to explain it to him, and went back to work. "I can't sleep. Sorry. I'll try again."

"Not if you don't want to, or are afraid of the nightmares. You can sit here, with me and watch." He went back to the bed, curling up in a ball. _Crap, _I thought. _I don't have time for this. _"Is there anything I can do for you," I asked. "Want me to…hold you, or—something?" He just lay there quivering. "Uh, look. It's almost 6:00. We have to hurry, and I have to, you know, finish writing this program." He nodded, laying still. "I'm—I'll do something for you really soon. We'll figure this out. I promise." Clark nodded, slipping a thumb into his mouth. He looked like me as a toddler, and I hated myself for turning him through all of this.

XX

I finished the program about an hour later, and climbed into bed beside Kal-el, wrapping my arms around his body. He clenched, but once again was trying not to show it. "If you need me to let go, you need to tell me. In fact, I order you to tell me if I hurt you or upset or bother you, okay?" He whimpered. I let go, scooting away a little.

"Do you think this is gonna work," he asked turning around to look me in the eyes.

"I don't know," I told him honestly. The program would work. I had no doubt about that, but getting Milt to load it would be nearly impossible. He pressed his head into my chest. I sighed, rubbing his back and shoulders. Just as he started crying, the door flew open and Brainiac burst in. "It's okay," I whispered, softly, and then yanked Clark's pajama bottoms down, roughly, and went to work on my own.

"You might as well stop," Fine ordered, racing to my side, lifting me up by the lapels and slamming my body against the wall. "I should have known the two of you were up to something when Kal-el didn't recoil from your touch." He watched my eyes cautiously. "What did he tell you?"

"What your "general" did. He destroyed one planet. I will not let that happen again." Milt smiled, kneeing me in the crotch, and I exploded with pain. I wanted to scream but could only make quiet little sounds. He dropped me to the floor, took out the Kryptonite handcuffs, and tied Clark to the bed.

"I know what you're thinking, Lex, and you're right. We do need you, even if it's simply as a figurehead. You're useless though, so it wouldn't matter if you were a quivering mass or the stupid, pathetic creature you are now," he taunted, smiling. I watched as Fine leaned over Clark's terrified, naked body, pressing his cock against Kal-el's mouth.

"Don't," I begged, barely breathing. Brainiac zoomed to my side. Then, he shape-shifted, turning into Lionel. "Bu-buh-buh—but," I stammered. I curled up into a ball, hating my weakness, hating myself for not protecting Clark, but hating what I'd let happen more than anything."

"Lex, Lex, Lex. What am I going to do with you?" My father's voice filled my ears. He kneeled beside me, stroking my face. "I knew it. I've always known it. You're weak, pathetic, and I should never have allowed you any of what you've had. I was too gentle with you, Son, too forgiving." He jammed his thumb against my windpipe, cutting off any and all oxygen. Then, he was on top of me, inside of me. I lay under him. gasping for air, slowly dying, both in body and in mind.

"Lex," Clark whimpered. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about what his life was going to be like now. _I'm a monster, the worst of them all, _I thought. "Lex," Clark said again, more gently this time, not in pain, not upset. My eyes snapped open and I looked around the room. "You were having a bad dream."

"Where's Brainiac," I asked, still slightly—okay completely—terrified and nervous, looking around the room, fully expecting him to be hiding behind something, and that he would jump out at any minute to attack us.

"I dunno, probably off re-charging his batteries," he smirked, sadly. I smiled, patting him on the arm. "You finished writing the virus, came over, laid down next to me, and fell asleep. I could hear you crying and stuff. Sounded bad. So, I woke you up."

'Thanks," I whispered, stretching. I looked at my watch again. It was 9:30. We had an hour and half to figure out how to get Milt to upload the thing, find out if it really did work, and then deal with what happened next—either way. I rubbed my eyes, stood up, and went to the bathroom. When I came back, I didn't need Brainiac or Kal-el's abilities to know what he was thinking. _Now what_¸ the question had been plaguing us all night. "Anymore brilliant ideas? Seriously, I'm useless before my second cup of coffee." Once again he gave me a small smile, but I had a feeling it was more because he felt like he had to than out of finding my comment funny. "I'd tell him the program did something else—I've done that before, usually to make it easier for him to get his energy back if he used up too much of it. I'm just afraid he won't believe me. Milt always asked for those. He'll sense—I don't know what to do. I just had this dream…he found us, cuffed you to the bed, changed into Lionel, and started…that's when you woke me up. We gotta—I don't know. I never had to do anything like this before"

"Me either," Clark admitted, looking at the floor. "Is there any way to get the program in through his—through part of his body? Like into food or something…" I was pretty sure I knew what he was trying to get at.

"Or through sex," I added. Kal-el looked away, his eyes sad and sort of pathetic. "It'd hafta be me. He's not going to risk making you imperfect for Zod, not today, only…we don't usually—he hasn't had sex with me in years, well—except when we're in—when we're hurting you. He'd know something was up if I just say, 'hey, Milt, man, will you please fuck me?' We're screwed, but once again, you're a genius." Clark's features were dark for several minutes. Then, he brightened up.

"What if you use the nightmare? Lionel was—so horrible to you. He abused you, and he—destroyed your ability to ever trust another human being, and—Lionel never told you he loved you. Brainiac knows that your father's love is all you ever wanted—and he can give it to you. Sorry, that wasn't supposed to be a sex joke."

"I can't believe you're smarter than me," I said, shocked.

"No, I just planned this out a couple of—I thought about this before, and I 'm really good at this superhero thing." He smiled, weakly. "I never could of written that program, or modified Kryptonite, or—you taught yourself to read and speak Kryptonian, and you know so much."

"Relax, Clark," I told him, patting the boy on the arm. 'You don't have to try and make me feel better about my intelligence. We all have stuff we're good at. I—for example—would need at least two, probably three or four people to help me lift the pool table." I chuckled. "I gotta go back to work now." I managed to get the program/ virus bonded with a condom—a special type Brainiac and I had created for him because he said we needed them. From that I could only assume that he might be capable of getting me pregnant or something. "Now—uh, I have to leave you alone here when I, you know," I explained. Clark nodded but clasped onto me and didn't let go, even as I was heading for the door. "I also have to lock you in, but—I swear, this is the last time. Ever," I promised, slipping the virus-condom into my pocket, and heading for the door. "Listen in on us. Then, if things re going bad, I'll say, 'Milt, I'm sorry, but I just can't let you do this.' That's when you…with the gun. You have to. He helped me activate the crystal. He will gain control of you, and you won't be able to help anyone else, but if this fails, it's just—it's too late. But, don't worry; I won't like it get to that."

"Lex, you don't have to do this," he said, gently. I nodded, but we both knew there weren't any other options. I held him close, kissed his hair, and whispered in his ear.

"I love you, Clark, and I will do whatever it—I never wanted to hurt you. Sorry, I'm so sorry." He nodded, still holding onto me, tightly. "I have to go now, Kal-el, and—I'll be back. We will deal with this then. I am going to fix this." He nodded but still didn't let go. When I was finally able to get free, I stepped outside, sobbed exactly once, marched down to Fine's bedroom, and knocked on the door.


End file.
